Ruby's Fall
by Etheriell
Summary: Weiss notices a strange change in Ruby's behavior, one that makes her suspicious of Ruby's mentality. What she finds is something she never expected.


**This is just a one shot that came to mind shortly after I finished Face to Face. It has no relation to my other stories right now. But I must warn you now, mention of suicidal thoughts and depression. I also must add the disclaimer that Weiss makes some mistakes in how she handles the situation, but I don't want to give too much away. However, she couldn't have known better, which is what I'm trying to show. This isn't truly shippy, but I guess if you squint you can see hints of Whiterose and Bumblebee...but you gotta squint pretty hard.  
**

 **Disclaimer-I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

It was three months into the second year at Beacon when Weiss realized something was wrong with Ruby. When they had first come back together after summer vacation, Ruby had been a bit sullen, but everyone had written it off as her just sad summer vacation had ended. Soon after however, Weiss began to notice that though Ruby was cheerful and happy when people were watching, as soon as their back was turned she lost her smile. Her face would fall into a neutral expression, and she would just avoid participating in conversations as much as before. Weiss tried confronting her about it once, but Ruby vehemently denied anything was wrong, seeming genuinely confused. The heiress dropped it, but kept a close eye on her partner, still worried (not that she would ever admit it out loud).

But by the time the third month had rolled around, it was clear, not only to Weiss, but to Yang and Blake as well that something was off with the young team leader. She started spending a lot of time outside the dorms, and never told anyone where she was going. She'd always just say 'going for a walk' whenever asked. Ruby's grades began slipping, as she kept putting her homework off till as late as possible, and even during her physical classes she began to lose focus. During sparring, Weiss took note of how Ruby was getting hit far more than she had last year. She failed to dodge attacks she should easily have been able to avoid. Sometimes Weiss wondered if Ruby _wanted_ to get hit, because she could see when the younger girl saw the attack coming, and would simply let it hit her when she had plenty of time to move.

Yang had stolen Ruby away one day, dragging her to a park to talk, trying to find out what was wrong with her, but from the way she and the younger girl had stomped back in the room glaring daggers at each other, Weiss figured she was unsuccessful. They could never hold a grudge against each other however, and not even an hour passed before they were back to being as insufferably close…but Ruby still seemed different. Things were the same for quite some time, leaving Weiss fretting over her partner but unable to do anything about it, until sometime during their fourth month at Beacon.

Midway through the fourth month, Ruby underwent another drastic shift. Suddenly, her grades shot back up, she performed well in sparring, and she was much calmer. She _seemed_ happier, but Weiss didn't think she'd call it happy. More like…at peace. Her smiles were much more serene than before, and while her hyperactivity was lessened, she still seemed much happier. Everyone else on the team thought it meant she was back to normal, but not Weiss. It was too sudden, too abrupt, and why did she suddenly seem _peaceful?_ Weiss also could not forget the oddity of the question Ruby had asked the heiress a few weeks ago.

 _"Hey Weiss?" Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes before shutting her book. Turning in her chair to look at Ruby, Weiss arched an eyebrow at Ruby._

 _"Yes? What do you want?" Ruby squirmed for a moment, looking away, before locking eyes with Weiss._

 _"Do you know an easy way to drain or disable an aura?" Weiss blinked, confused. This was not a question she expected._

 _"Uh…why?" Ruby shrugged._

 _"Oh, it's part of my leadership class. We were assigned to find out what such a way is, and I thought since you're so smart, you might know of a way!" Ruby smiled at Weiss, but the heiress felt something about the smile was…off. It didn't have the same bright energy that Ruby carried all throughout the previous year. Weiss shook her head to clear her thoughts._

 _"Well, I remember reading in a book on dust artifacts that certain items filled with Dust can disable Aura's, but I've no idea if it was actually truthful. I didn't bother checking its veracity, I was looking for something else. It's in the library though. It's called 'Artifacts: An Immersive Guide into the Depths of Dust'." Ruby's smile faded slightly, but not as though she had become sad. It was that strange peaceful look Weiss had noticed on Ruby's face._

 _"Thanks Weiss!" With a wave, Ruby left the room, presumably to go look up that book, leaving Weiss to wonder what Ruby wasn't telling her._

Weiss was still pondering on Ruby's unusual behavior when she walked out into the hallway, not really paying attention, when she ran into the exact person she was wondering about. Quite literally. A loud 'oof!' came from Weiss' mouth as she bounced off the figure in front of her. Looking up, about to give a tongue lashing to the person who had dared get in her way, she froze in place upon seeing Ruby's face.

Ruby had a smile on her face, but one Weiss had never seen before. Her eyes were slightly red, and she kept blinking, as though trying to avoid crying. Her smile was half-hearted at best, looking…broken was the only word to come to Weiss' mind. But she still looked peaceful, calm, as she steadied Weiss before straightening up.

"Sorry about that Weiss. I should have looked where I was going." Weiss blinked, shocked that Ruby's thoughts had basically mirrored her own, before catching herself. Weiss swallowed, not entirely sure how to go about this, but she _had_ to find out what was going on.

"Ruby, is something the matter?" Ruby shook her head slowly, her smile twitching slightly.

"No, nothing's the matter. I did want to talk to you though." Weiss gestured at Ruby to continue, curious what she had to say. Ruby looked away from Weiss for a moment, before taking a deep breath and turning back to the heiress, smiling softly. "I just wanted you to know, you are the best partner and teammate I could have asked for. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a partner. You're smart, and awesome, and graceful...you're just the best. I'm so glad you stayed with me, really. So…I guess I just wanted to say thank you. Thanks Weiss, for being my friend. My best friend." Weiss really wasn't sure how to reply, blushing slightly at the praise Ruby had just heaped on her, but still suspicious of the younger girl's behavior.

"Thank you for that…but come on Ruby. Something's bothering you. You can tell me. If I'm your best friend like you just said, just tell me. Please?" Weiss had to swallow down her pride to utter that despised word, but she was truly worried about her partner now. Her pride could wait. Whatever was bothering Ruby couldn't. Ruby shook her head quickly, blinking even quicker than before. She sniffled a bit, before smiling again, that same twitch in her smile.

"I'm fine Weiss. Really. I just wanted to tell you that, that's all. I thought you should know. But I really can't stick around, I have a lot to do right now, lots of homework you know. Umm…yeah. Goodbye Weiss." Before Weiss could stop her, the younger girl disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, dashing down the hallway. Weiss stomped her foot in frustration, huffing out a breath before leaning up against her dorm door, arms crossed over her chest. She really needed to figure out what was going on, and quickly. Something just felt wrong, like something bad was coming.

Weiss only had a few moments to herself to think, as not a minute later the remainder of team RWBY and team JNPR showed up, having come back from classes recently. The sight of Weiss leaning against her dorm door, arms crossed, a frown on her face as she stared at the floor had Yang waving her hand in front of Weiss' face, trying to get her attention. Weiss looked up at Yang, expression blank for a moment, before her mind caught onto what her eyes were seeing and she jumped. Yang jumped a bit herself, hands held up in front of her.

"Whoa princess! What's got you so jumpy?" Weiss sighed.

"Ruby. Something's wrong and she won't tell me what it is! She's been acting so weird, and suddenly she was just all complimentary to me, and then just disappeared!" Before anyone could reply, a hail from down the hall got their attention. Sun and Neptune were walking up the group, Neptune with a look of confusion evident on his face as Sun grinned his irrepressible grin. Yang cocked her head at Neptune?

"And what's wrong with you?" Neptune shrugged.

"Ruby…does she seem off to any of you?" Weiss, her suspicions confirmed, moved over to Neptune and looked up at him.

"What did she do?" Neptune shrugged again.

"Well, she came up to me and asked to talk to me alone, so of course I said okay. She pulls me off into this classroom, and she suddenly starts saying these nice things about me and about how I'm a good guy, and then she asked me to look after you. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was crying, her voice kept cracking. Then she just up and hugs me real tight, says thank you, and just says goodbye. I don't know, it was really weird." A sudden gasp from Nora made everyone spin to look at her, her hands over her mouth as she stared at Ren. Ren was standing stock still, eyes wide, as though something had just struck him, before he shook himself out of it. Sharing a glance with Nora, he looked at Neptune, his voice low and pleading as he spoke.

"Where did she go after she spoke to you?" Neptune looked up in thought for a moment.

"I wasn't really looking, but I think she was headed towards the lockers? Not really sure." Ren nodded sharply, before spinning on the rest of the group.

"We have to find Ruby. _Now!_ " Ren's proclamation was met with a lot of confused looks, but Yang's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why? What's going on, Ren?" Ren just growled low under his breath, his normally stoic voice near panicked.

"We don't have time for this! _Find her!_ " Not waiting for a reply, he turned and bolted down the hall, shoving his way past the group and any other student in his way. Nora made to chase after him, but Yang grabbed her by her arm, worry evident in her eyes.

"Nora, what's going on? What's wrong with Ruby?" Nora struggled for a moment, before giving up, looking up at Yang with watery eyes.

"Ren's right, we have to find her, quickly!" Weiss growled, her face twisted in a snarl, not enjoying the way the two were keeping everyone else in the dark.

" _Why_ do we need to find her so quickly? We deserve to know what's going on! Tell us!" Nora took one look at Weiss, her voice a whisper.

"Ruby is going to kill herself."

* * *

The sounds of running footsteps echoed throughout the halls of Beacon, as the young women and men dashed down the hallways as fast as they could, scrolls to ears as they tried to keep in contact over the school network, even as they split off into every direction they could imagine. Nora was hurriedly trying to explain as she ran.

"Ren's older brother did the same thing, before he died. He spent a week telling everyone how he felt about them and saying he loved them, and he always ended his sentence with goodbye. Ren was the last one he spoke to. He hugged Ren, and told him he was the best brother he could ask for. Then he said goodbye, and the next time Ren saw him…he was dead."

"But this makes no sense! Ruby's not like that! She's not suicidal!" Jaune exclaimed, even as he tore through one of the training rooms, seeing if she was in there. He tripped over a training dummy, his scroll sliding across the floor until it hit someone's shoe. Looking up, Jaune gulped at the sight of Professor Goodwitch standing there, eyebrow arched as she looked down at him.

"Care to explain what you just said, Mr. Arc?" Jaune was saved having to answer that by Pyrrha bursting into the room for her own search, the amazon freezing in place as she caught sight of the two of them. She shook her head and tried to explain as quickly as possible.

"Professor Goodwitch, please, we need your help. We think Ruby might try to hurt herself, we're trying to find her before she does!" A quick wave of the headmistress's wand had Jaune back to his feet, and his scroll in hand as she held up her own scroll and dialed someone. She waited impatiently for someone to pick up, before speaking in a calm, even tone.

"We have a situation, a student in trouble. Begin searching for first year Ruby Rose immediately." Hanging up the scroll, she tapped hers into the network the other students were using, the sound of her stern voice interrupting the worried chatter. "Listen to me, children. Finding Ruby is only part of the solution. You have to know how to handle her. If you are correct about how she is feeling, you must be cautious. If you find her, talk to her, listen to her, but above all else, do not yell at or get angry at her. Keep yourself under control, and do not let her out of your sight. Just stay calm and try to keep her calm. Odds are she will not be in the school if she is not in your dorm. She will seek out some place important to her, and most likely not easily reached. Spread out from the building."

* * *

Eight minutes. Eight minutes has passed since the entire faculty, along with teams RWBY, JNPR, and two members of team SSSN had been frantically searching. It had taken only a few seconds for the security cameras to confirm Ruby had left the building itself. Straight from the lockers, carrying a small backpack and Crescent Rose it seemed. Ozpin had activated the tracking device in Ruby's scroll, but it led back to the team's dorm. It seemed Ruby had left the scroll in her room before she left. The search parties had spread out across the entirety of Beacon's campus…Ozpin had issued an order grounding all airships as soon as Glynda had informed him of the situation. He had not seemed surprised, merely nodded along, but when asked why he wasn't surprised, he gave his insight.

"It is not unusual for this to occur. Depression is a fairly common mental illness, although it's seldom recognized for what it is, and the career path you have chosen is fraught with incidents that can take a psychological toll on a person. Depression is not a sign of weakness, and with proper help and care, it is possible to assist a depressed person through their troubles. In order to do that, we need to find Ruby first. Remember, she may go to a place with special significance for her. Think, where would she go?"

Weiss' voice rang out over the line, panting slightly. "The Emerald Forest! There are a lot of places she could go…where we met as partners, where we found the relics, the place we fought the Nevermore and Deathstalker, would those count?"

"It's possible Miss Schnee. I advise you take your team and check those three locations. We'll continue to search the rest of the campus," was Glynda's reply.

"Okay, Blake and I'll check where we got the relics. Weiss, check the cliffs and then head down to where you two met." Although Yang couldn't see it, Weiss nodded along with her plan, dashing towards the cliff that had started their first adventure together, noting out of the corner of her eye how Blake and Yang were rushing to the side, trying to take a shortcut to the location they had found the relics. Weiss lost sight of them as they were swallowed up by the trees, before her own vision was hindered by the forest she burst into, desperately hoping they'd find Ruby in time.

* * *

Weiss was frozen in place, hiding behind a tree, as she peered out at Ruby. Ruby was standing on the very edge of the cliff, looking down the side of the cliff. Her back was to Weiss, leaving the heiress wondering what she was thinking, and afraid to find out. Weiss lifted her scroll up to her mouth and, making sure to turn the volume down, hissed into it. "I found her! She's by the cliffs! But she's standing right on the edge! What do I do?"

Ozpin's reassuring voice rang out, cutting off the other teens as they piped up. "Remain calm. Show yourself, slowly, and just try to talk to her. Just get her to open up to you. Don't denigrate her concerns or feelings, even if they seem illogical or nonsensical. Just talk to her, and see if you can't at least get her away from the cliff." Weiss took a deep breath, glancing back out at Ruby. Seeing Ruby step away from the cliff edge for a moment and begin rummaging in her pack, Weiss stepped out from the trees, calling out to the red-cloaked girl.

"H-hey Ruby," silently cursing herself in her head for stuttering, keeping an eye on how Ruby quickly shot to her feet and spun in a flash, mouth gaping.

Ruby gulped, her red-rimmed eyes blinking rapidly as she squeaked, her voice cracking. "O-Oh, Weiss. What are you doing out here?"

Weiss took two careful steps towards Ruby, moving slowly, almost feeling like she was approaching an injured animal. Considering the pain in Ruby's eyes, the comparison seemed accurate. "I was looking for you. I was hoping you'd…umm…you'd want to go to the city? We could go visit that bakery you talked about last week! Y-Yeah, let's do that!" Weiss' heart broke as Ruby took a step back from her, arms hugging herself across her chest as she looked down.

"Thanks Weiss, but I'd rather just stay here for a while. Alone. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Weiss felt the slightest tinge of annoyance rise up at Ruby's dismissal, but quickly stomped on it. "Ruby…Ruby, I'm your friend, right?"

Ruby looked up, eyes rimmed with tears, mouth wide, before she shook her head to clear it, her hair flying back and forth before her face. "O-of course! You were my best friend!"

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Ruby. "You said were. Past tense. Am I not now?"

Ruby stepped forward, hands wide, pleading. "No-Wait, I mean yes! Yes, of course! I'm sorry, I said that wrong. I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry." Weiss flinched, Ruby's reassurance coming across as pitiful. She perceptively noted how Ruby's tone had changed when she had spoken of herself, how her voice was filled with venom as she practically spat out the word stupid. Weiss let her eyes trail over both Ruby and the pack, realizing Ruby had on a faintly glowing necklace she had never seen the younger girl wear before. Squinting at it, she noticed the telltale particles of Dust slowly spinning within it. She choked back a gasp when she realized what it was…a device to disable one's Aura. Crescent Rose was seated in its travel form by the pack, a small envelope taped to it, with a smaller stack of envelopes sitting still between the scythe and the pack. Weiss could see Ruby's slightly messy handwriting on each of the envelopes. Her name was written prominently on the top one in the stack, and she could see Yang's name on the one attached to Crescent Rose.

With a start, Weiss realized she hadn't responded to Ruby at all, which the younger girl seemed to take as some sort of condemnation. Ruby's head had drooped down, her bangs hiding her face as she hugged herself tighter. A tiny whimper came from Ruby, as she took a step back towards the edge of the cliff again. Weiss' eyes widened as she realized Ruby was barely a step from the edge, her cape fluttering madly in the open air. Weiss shuffled forward a step, arms out, her expression pleading. "Ruby, what's wrong? I'm your best friend, I know when something is wrong. Talk to me."

Ruby shuffled back again, the back of her feet brushing against the cliff edge, sending a small clatter of pebbles and dirt down into the fog below. She shook her head rapidly. Weiss could see Ruby was biting her lip, a small trickle of blood flowing down from where she had punctured it. "Weiss…just go. Just go back to the dorms. Just leave me. Like everyone else."

Weiss took another careful step forward, keeping her voice as soothing as she could. "Ruby, I'm not going to leave you, and no one else is."

"…mom did." Weiss froze, unsure how to respond, but was not given a chance to. "But its okay. It makes sense really. No one wants to be around dumb Ruby. I got in here by sheer luck. Maybe pity. Yeah, probably pity. Professor Ozpin felt bad for me, since I'm so pathetic." Ruby barked out a mocking half laugh, with no humor in it as it trailed off into humorless giggles. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be wasting your time Weiss. Go on Weiss. This is best for everyone."

Weiss couldn't believe her ears. She desperately wanted to yell at Ruby, shake her, do anything to make her see sense, but she kept her cool, worried she'd scare Ruby. "Ruby, how would…this…be best for any of us? Ruby, we need you're, you're our leader, our friend!" For a brief moment, Weiss thought she had broken through Ruby's words, but the soft, tormented voice that replied shattered her illusions entirely.

"No you don't. You'd be a better leader than me. You wouldn't make such stupid mistakes. You'd all be better off without me holding you back."

"Ruby, you don't hold us back! I swear! We couldn't be here without-"

"SHUT UP!" Weiss was startled into silence at Ruby's scream, her hands plastered to the side of her head, covering her ears. Ruby's eyes were closed tightly as she curled in on herself, tears dripping from her eyes. " _Just shut up!_ Stop lying to me! I know you guys hate me! I know it! I'm so pathetic, you should hate me, you should want me dead! You should kill me yourself! Just stab me already! Just make it go away! _Make it go away!_ " Ruby's left foot slid backwards, the heel of it going out over the edge. Her balance shook for a brief moment, causing Weiss to start forward, but Ruby barely managed to regain her equilibrium. Weiss tried to speak, but Ruby cut her off once more. "I…I know I shouldn't ask you anything. You shouldn't do anything for me. But, just one last request? C-Can you…can you make sure everyone gets their letters?" Weiss' eyes involuntarily slid over to the pile of envelopes seated by Crescent Rose, before snapping back to meet the tear filled pools of silver that were Ruby's pleading eyes.

"No. I can't. Because if you go over that cliff, I'm going after you." Weiss knew it was stupid, and wrong, and she shouldn't say things like that. But she wasn't some psychologist. Hell, she barely understood how to deal with people. She didn't know what else to say, she couldn't break through Ruby's self-loathing, so she tried one last ditch effort. One final try, something, anything, just to get Ruby to move away from the edge. She quickly realized her mistake when she saw the expression on Ruby's face, how it twisted instantly, the way the younger girl began shaking.

"Do you think that makes me feel better? Now you're telling me if I go, you go? If I go, if I try to silence these voices, I'm gonna be killing you too? Oh god…I'll be a murderer too." Weiss gasped, mentally slapping herself.

"No! No, Ruby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that! I just don't want you to get hurt! Please, Ruby please, come here. Please!"

Ruby bent down, hugging herself, gasping for breath as she curled into herself again, as though her chest hurt. Sobs spilled out, the tears falling and shattering into the earth like bullets. Choking, she tried to speak. "But it _hurts!_ It doesn't stop! It's always this pain in my chest, my heart feels like it's going to burst, I can't think straight anymore! I don't want to get out of bed, I don't want to eat, I can't sleep, I just want it to stop! I just keep hearing these voices in my head and they keep telling me everything is wrong and how you all hate me and you never wanted me around and Yang is tired of taking care of me and Blake just wants me to leave her alone and you hate me and oh my god please make it stop…I just want it to be over. I just want to stop hurting…please make it stop hurting…"

"Ruby…I can't make it stop. But I swear to you, I promise you, on my word as a Schnee, I don't hate you. You're my best friend. My first friend. Those voices are liars, Ruby. Please, if you trust me on anything, trust me on this. They are lying to you! Yang loves you, Blake loves you, I love you! All your friends are racing around trying to find you, we all love you, we don't want to lose you! Come back with me. Come back with me and let us try to help you. Trust me Ruby…please. Trust me." Weiss held out one hand, daring to take another step forward, putting her only a meter away from Ruby. Weiss' expression was pleading, honest and open, praying to herself that Ruby would believe her.

Silence settled upon the clifftop for a brief moment, as Ruby looked at Weiss' hand. Weiss could see the wheels turning in her head, could practically see the thoughts running through the younger girl's mind as she thought about what Weiss had said. A spark of hope lit up in Weiss' heart when she saw Ruby tentatively reach one trembling hand out to her, straightening up as she did so.

The change in weight balance on the cliff edge as Ruby tried to stand fully triggered a sudden rumbling of rocks. The edge Ruby was standing on crumbled with a loud crack, Ruby's eyes going wide in fear as she began to slide. Time slowed down for Weiss for a moment, her eyes locked on the terrified eyes of Ruby, reacting instinctively. She leapt forward, grabbing Ruby's outstretched hand with both of hers and yanking, desperately trying to pull Ruby towards her. She found an inner reserve of strength, falling backwards as Ruby came flying at her, wrapping her arms around Ruby and pulling her tight as she fell, letting out a pained grunt as her back slammed into the ground, Ruby atop her. Weiss took a deep breath, opening her eyes to see the worried, red-rimmed gaze of Ruby above her.

"Weiss! Weiss, are you okay?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Ruby nodded, giving Weiss a watery smile. "Well, I didn't fall…thanks to you. Thank you."

Weiss gulped, pushing Ruby up slightly so she could sit up. Ruby slid off Weiss and sat next to her, dropping her head down and refused to look at Weiss. Weiss spent a moment looking at Ruby, feeling as tired as she imagined Ruby did, before she wrapped her arm around Ruby's shoulder. Ruby looked up at Weiss, confusion and worry written on her face as Weiss looked down at her. Weiss gently pulled Ruby's face into her shoulder, wrapping her free arm around Ruby's other shoulder in an awkward side hug. Weiss didn't say a word, just sat quietly, only tightening her hold on Ruby when she felt her shoulder begin to grow damp. Ruby slowly wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist, squeezing her tightly.

"Ruby?" Weiss waited until Ruby made a sound of acknowledgment before continuing. "I'm going to call the others now, okay? I'm sure they are worried about you. Can I tell them where we are?" Weiss felt more than saw Ruby's nod, the younger girl refusing to release Weiss. Weiss left the one arm across Ruby's shoulder, using the other to pull her scroll out from her pocket. Weiss clicked it on. "Hey. I have Ruby with me. She's okay. But umm…can it just be Yang and Blake who come here?"

"Of course Miss Schnee. The rest of you, back to your dorms for now. Thank you for helping us look for her. I'll wait at the entrance for you four. Take your time." Ozpin's voice was calm, reassuring. "Oh, and Miss Rose…I'm glad you're still here with us."

Ruby kept her head buried in Weiss' shoulder, but she made an affirmative sound that Weiss decided to translate for her. "She says 'thank you'." The scroll connection clicked off as the sounds of running feet through the underbrush sounded, before Yang burst into the clearing, dirt covering her face as twigs stuck out of her hair. Blake followed a second later, looking no less haggled than the blonde, their eyes locking on the form of Ruby curled into Weiss' side. Blake hung back, allowing Yang to approach cautiously, taking a knee next to Ruby and gently laying her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby let out a shuddering breath, lifting her head off Weiss' now soaked shoulder to look up at Yang. Yang took one look at her sister's face before pulling her in for a gentle hug, Weiss willingly releasing Ruby into Yang's arms. Yang kissed the top of Ruby's head, sharing a glance with Weiss that spoke volumes. Blake knelt down in front of Ruby, trying to smile at Ruby but finding it difficult.

"Ruby? Sweetie? Do you wanna talk?" Yang's voice was hesitant, fearful. Her expression fell when Ruby shook her head violently in Yang's shoulder.

"I don't want to talk right now. I…I can't. I just…I need you here. Y-You don't hate me, right?"

Yang's face was horrified at the mere suggestion. "Of course not Ruby! I love you! You're my little sis. I'll never hate you! Ever."

"And you're not tired of taking care of me?" The meek, pleading tone Ruby spoke in broke the other three girl's hearts, even as Yang cuddled Ruby closer.

"Never. I promise you, I will always be here for you. Always."

"I do too. You're my friend Ruby…I'll be here." Blake met Ruby's eyes as the younger girl looked up at her, the afternoon sunlight glinting off unshed tears in Ruby's eyes.

Weiss tapped Ruby's shoulder, smiling at her softly. "I told you so, dolt." Ruby sniffled, a tiny trace of a smile appearing on her face, lifting the hearts of those surrounding her to see even that brief moment occur.

Ruby wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, letting go of Yang and clenching her fists tightly for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go back. I don't want to keep feeling like this. So I'll try whatever I have to." The four girls stood together, Yang wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder, letting her lean into her side. Yang looked over Ruby's head at Weiss and caught her eye, mouthing the words 'Thank you' to Weiss. Weiss smiled at Yang and nodded, before a strange feeling caught her attention. Looking down, she saw that Ruby had grasped her hand, holding it. Weiss just smiled softly and turned her hand so she could return the hold, entwining her fingers with Ruby's. Blake quickly picked up Crescent Rose for Ruby, holding it in one hand as the other grabbed Yang's free arm and held onto her elbow, hugging her side, as the four girls walked back through the trees, back to their school.

* * *

 **PSA - As someone who has spent the past seventeen years struggling with depression, more than half my life, I do want to state that for anyone who either is depressed or knows someone who is, you can get help. While I won't say that current medicine was able to help me, it did help quite a number of my closer friends, and I strongly suggest if you or someone you know is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, or self-harm, please do not hesitate to reach out. Find someone you can talk to. Professionals CAN help. And if you're a bit scared to deal with them, your friends and family can listen, although they may not know how to react. Hell, people can always reach out to me as well, I'm always willing to help. But the same applies to those trying to help, don't let someone else's problems take you down with them. You can only do so much. As long as you listen, don't judge, and accept their feelings, you can help. Don't guilt trip people, just let them know they are loved.**

 **Sorry, I just needed to get that out there, as this is a subject I am very passionate about. Please, be safe, be healthy, and above all, find what makes you happy.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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